BEHIND-THE-SCENES AT ‘THE PLAYGROUND’ SOFT OPENING

Last Tuesday, November 15th marked the soft opening of Downtown Santa Ana’s hottest new restaurant, The Playground. Located in the heart of Santa Ana’s latest up-and-coming area, the East End Promenade (across from the Yost Theater), The Playground is taking the notion of ‘pub food’ to an entirely new level, dazzling diners with out-of-this-world cuisine.

As The Playground’s Owner & Executive Chef, Jason Quinn puts it, the vision for his menu was simple: “New American small plates. Ingredient-driven. Technique-driven. One great burger, epic chicken wings, delicious pork belly, awesome vegetable preparations, sous-vide hanger steak, interesting flavor combinations.” And, together with his team of insanely-talented, young chefs (Brad Radack, Frank Deloach, Karl Pfleider and April Ventura), this vision has quickly become a mind-blowing, delicious reality.

And, food is only part of the story at The Playground. Beer-lovers, brace yourselves. With the help of Jarred Dooley, one of approximately 200 Certified Cicerones (a.k.a., Master Beer Sommeliers), The Playground boasts a world-class craft beer list with 15 rotating beers on tap and a 60+ bottle list — needless to say, there’s a little bit of something for everyone. And, in the spirit equality, all draft beers are $5, all the time. They simply come in 15, 11 or 8-ounce pours, depending on cost and alcohol content – but, no matter what, are always 5 bucks. Gotta love that!

On Tuesday, November 15th The Playground opened their doors to family & friends for an evening of menu tasting and celebration, and I was there to capture some behind-the-scenes action both on the dining room floor and inside the kitchen. Below, feast your eyes on a small visual taste of what The Playground menu has to offer. Then, be sure to come out & ‘play’ next time you’re in Santa Ana – I promise, even if you don’t live locally, it’s worth the trip!… Hope to see you all there soon!

Prime 6-Ounce Hangar Steak with creamed spinach and garlic chips – This steak is cooked a perfect medium-rare and is so tender, it melts in your mouth like butta’

One of the coolest, most interactive items on the menu, “Our Bread, Your Butter” – just shake the mason jar and the marbles inside turn the cream into fresh, salty, perfectly-handmade butter after 40 seconds of shaking

Left: Frank Deloach; Right: Jason Quinn expedites

Karl Pfleider & Frank Deloach, kickin’ a** & takin’ names

Handmade Lemon Ricotta Gnocchi in Mushroom Ragu (yep – even the Ricotta is made in-house!)

Frank Deloach & Brad Radack, turnin’ up the heat in The Playground kitchen

Orange Jidori Chicken Wings with fried rice; Jidori is the Japanese term that literally means “Chicken of the Earth” – a.k.a. vegetarian-fed, free-range chicken that is delivered within 24 hours of slaughter, guaranteeing its freshness. So fresh & bacteria-free, you could eat it raw. (Not that you have to – but, you could!)